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DEPARTMENT ()!• AGRICULTURE. 

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY--BULLETIN NO. 42. 



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SEKO AND PLANT INTRODUCTION AND UTSTRI BUTION. 



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U. S. DEPARTMENT (W AGRICULTURE. 



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BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY— BULLETIN NO. 42. 



B. T. l.ALLuV.AY. rliiif ,f l!iirinu. 



DAVID G. FAIRCHILD, Agricultural Explorer. 



SEED AND PLANT INTRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION. 



Issued Ju.ne 24, 1903. 




WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNJIKNT I'KINTING OFi'ICE. 



19 03. 



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BUREAU OF PL,Al>fT INDUSTRY. 

Beverly T. Galloway, ('liirf of Bitremi. 

SEED AND PLANT INTRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION. 

SCIENTIFIC STAFF. 

A. J. PiETERs, Bolaninl in Charge. 

David G. Fairciiild, Af/ririillural Explorer. 

W. W. Tracy, sr., Spirial Ar/aU. 

S. A. Knapp, Sjxvial Aycnt. 

John E. W. Tracy, Expert. 

George W. Oliver, Expert. 



By transfer 
•a.'. 31 1908 



LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 



U. S. Department of Agriculture, 

Bureau of Plant Industry, 

Office of the Chief, 
Washington, D. <7., May 13, 1903. 
Sir: I have the honor to tran.smit herewith a paper entitled '"Three 
New Plant Introductions from Japan," and respectfully recommend 
that it be published as Bulletin No. 42 of this Bureau. 

This paper was prepared by Mr. D. G. Fairchild, Agricultural 
Explorer, who has been detailed by you to accompany Mr. Barbour 
Lathrop on hi.s expeditions in search of valuable seeds and plants, and 
it has been submitted by the Botanist in Charge of Seed and Plant 
Introduction and Distribution, with a view to publication. 

The six full-page half-tone illustrations are an essential part of the 
paper. 

Respectfully, 

B. T. Galloway, 

Chief of Bureau. 
Hon. James Wilson, 

Secretary of Agriculture. 



II 



PREFACE. 



As a result of his observations on the agriculture of Japan, Mr. 
D. G. Fairchild has contributed several jjapers designed to interest 
American cultivators in new crops. Three of these papers are pub- 
lished in this Bulletin. One on a Japanese paper plant calls the atten- 
tion of fanners in the mild and humid regions of the United States to 
a possible new industr}^ while those on the udo and on the Japanese 
horse-radish will doubtless prove of interest both to market gardeners 
and amateurs who take pleasure in cultivating the best vegetables. 

The plants and seeds received from Mr. Lathrop, through Mr. Fair- 
child, have been placed for trial with reliable horticulturists, and the 
results of these tests will enable us in the course of time to report 
more fully regarding the adaptability of these plants to our conditions. 

A. J. PlETERS, 

BiAan'ist in Charge. 
Office of Botanist in Charge of Seed 

AND Plant Introduction and Distribution, 

Washington, D. C, May S, 1903. 

5 



CONTENTS. 



Page, 
Mitsumata, a Japanese paper plant. 

Introduction 9 

Species of paper plants in Japan 11 

The mitsumata plant 11 

The cultivation of mitsumata 12 

The manufacture of mitsumata paper 14 

The manufacture of leather paper 15 

Udo, a new winter salad. 

Introduction 17 

The cultivation of kan udo 18 

The cultivation of moyashi udo 19 

Wasabi, the horse-radish of the Japanese. 

Introduction 20 

The cultivation of wasabi 21 

Description of plates 24 

7 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Page. 
Plate I. A hillside covered with niitsumata, the Japanese paper plant. Frontispiece. 
II. Fig. 1. — Mitsuniata plant two years after transplanting from nursery 
row. Fig. 2. — Three-year-old shoots from an old niitsumata 
stump 24 

III. Fig. 1. — A bundle of peeled stems of niitsumata. Fig. 2. — Boards 

covered with drying sheets of mitsuniata paper 24 

IV. The udo plant in the field 24 

A'. Fig. 1. — Young root cutting of udo planted in the spring, showing 

new .shoot. Fig. 2. — Old root of udo planted in the spring, on 

which a young shoot has formed. Fig. 3. — Blanched young shoot 

of udo more than 2 feet long, taken from the forcing bed in May.. 24 

VI. Fig. 1. — Young wasabi plants ready to set out. Fig. 2. — A patch of 

wasabi on a hillside 24 



B. P. I.— .W. S. P. I. D.— 3-2. 

THREE NEW PLANT INTRODIICTKINS FROll JAPAN. 



MITSUMATA, A JAPANESE PAPER PLANT. 
INTRODUCTION. 

The facts for this paper were collected during a four mouths' stay 
in Japan, and represent work accomplished bj- Mr. Barbour Lathrop's 
third expedition in search of valuable seeds and plants. 

It is hoped that the inti'oduction of this new Japanese jjaper plant 
and its ultimate culture in the warmer parts of the United States will 
be encouraged Ity this brief account of its cultivation in Japan, for 
the production of any of the Japanese bark papers, which are for 
many purposes much superior to our own, will be a material addition 
to the wealth of the countrj' and give the cultivators of the South a 
new crop of value. 

Japanese napkins, umbrellas, and lanterns have taught the Occi- 
dentals new uses of paper, though the lesson has been but half 
learned. 

The papers employed by the common people of Japan are immeas- 
urably more vai'ied than with us. They form one of the important 
economies in the life of the peasant, and it is such ingenious uses of 
plant material as this employment of the bark of a shrub that makes 
it possible for 42,000,000 Japanese to live on the productions of a cul- 
tivated area about one-third the size of the State of Illinois. 

The walls of the Japanese houses are wooden frames covered with 
thin paper which keeps out the wind but lets in the light, and when 
one compares these paper-walled "doll houses" with the gloom j' bam- 
boo cabins of the inhabitants of the island of Java, or the sinall- 
windowed huts of our forefathers, he realizes that, without glass and 
in a rainy climate, these ingenious people have solved in a remarkable 
way the problem of lighting their dwellings and, at least in a meas- 
ure, of keeping out the cold. 

Their oiled papers are another important element in the peasant life 
of the Japanese, and are astonishing!}' cheap and durable. As a cover 
for his load of tea when a rain storm overtakes him, the Japanese 
farmer spreads over it a tough, pliable cover of oiled paper, which is 
almost as impervious as tarpaulin and as light as gossamer. He has 

9 



10 THREE NEW PLANT INTRODUCTIONS. 

doubtless carried this cover for years, neatly packed away somewhere 
about his cart. The "rikisha" coolies in the large cities wear rain 
mantles of this oiled paper which cost less than 18 cents and last for 
a year or more with constant use. 

An oiled tissue paper, which is as tough as writing paper, can be 
had at the stationers for wrapping up delicate articles. Every farm- 
house has its stock of wrapping paper which has been in use for several 
years and seems as strong and flexible as ever. It has been tanned 
with the fermented juice of green persimmons and made into "shibu 
gami," which is more impervious to moisture than ordinaiy paper and 
much tougher. 

In the tea factories, the piles of paper sacks tilled with tea are made 
of shibu gami, and 8-j'ear-old sacks covered with paper patches are a 
common sight. It is said that these tanned sacks keep the tea in better 
condition than any other sort, and that they last with careful use for 
many years. Grain and meal sacks are almost always made of this 
same paper in Japan, for it is not easily penetrated by weevils and 
other insects. 

But perhaps the most remarkalde of all the papers which find a 
common use in the Japanese household are the leather papers of which 
the tobacco pouches and pipe cases are made. They are almost as 
tough as French kid, so translucent that one can nearly sec through 
them, and as plialile and soft as calfskin. These tobacco pouches quite 
change one's notions of the characteristics of paper', for the material of 
which the}' are made is as thick as cardboard, but as flexible as kid. 
Even woven fabrics of which the warp is paper and the woof cotton 
are manufactured, and the.se find a place in the Japanese hou.sehold, 
while the use of paper napkins and handkerchiefs, vunbrellas, and 
lanterns is as much a part of home life in Jajjan as the use of cheap tin 
articles is in America. The country is rich in the possession of these 
conveniences, any one of which would he an addition to the comfort of 
a European peasant or an American farmer. But the reason for this 
remarkable use of paper articles does not lie wholly in the absence of 
cheap skins, though it is true that few domesticated leather-producing 
animals exist in Japan. The qualitj' of the papers themselves makes 
them suitable, as ours are not, to these various purposes. 

In strong contrast with those of the Occident, these are )>ast papers, 
made from the inner bark of shrubs or small trees, while the papers 
of Europe and America are either from wood pulp, the macerated 
stems of wild grasses, or the cotton and linen rags of the ash barrels. 
It is not a pleasant thought that the brilliant white note paper which 
your hand rests upon may have in it the fibers from the filth}^ garment 
of some Egyptian fellah after it has passed through all the stages of 
decay untd it is saved bj' a ragpicker from the gutter of an Egyptian 
town; and yet it is a fact that hundreds of tons of Egyptian rags are 



PAPER PLANTS IN .TAPA.N. 11 

exported every year into America to supply our paper mill.s. At 
Mannheim on tlie Rhine the American importers have their rag- 
picking houses, where the rags are collected from all over Europe, the 
disease-infected Levant not excepted, and where women and children, 
too poor to earn a better living, work day after day, with wet sponges 
tied over their mouths, sorting these tilthy scraps for shipment to New 
York. Our best papers are made of these rags and our common ones 
of wood i)ulp, which is obtained by grinding and macerating huge 
blocks from some of our soft-wooded forest trees. The bast papers, 
therefore, are a creation of the Orient and are more nearly related to 
the South Sea Island tapa than to an^- of our products. 

To the fact that they are made from bark they owe their peculiar 
character. The}' are as a rule softer, silkier, tougher, and lighter than 
our papers. If wet, they lose their strength, like tissue paper, but 
on drying regain it. They are usually absorbent, and for this rea- 
son were considered in the olden days as very valuable in surgery. 
Whether or not the methods employed in their manufacture are 
responsible for the yellow tinge which they always have is a question 
for investigation. As writing papers they are designed for brush 
work, and as a rule are not suited without treatment for pen work, 
because the fibers in them are so long that they are continually getting 
caught in the nibs. This difiiculty, however, is obviated by a dressing 
of alum. 

SPECIES OF PAPER PLANTS IN JAPAN. 

According to the Japanese writers, there are at least nine plants 
from which papei-s are made in Japan, each species furnishing a 
different varietv of product. Two are species of the paper mulberry 
{BroiisKotutia), one the white nuUberry ( JA^/'^.v alhu), another a species 
of Daphne {D. paeudo-mezereuni Gray), three are wild forms of a 
small tree {^Y>el^stl'mnla)^ and one, \h& EdgeusiHlda papyrifera, fur- 
nishes the pulp for the mitsumata paper, of which we im^jort large 
quantities every year, especiall}' for use as legal documents, diplomas, 
deeds, bonds, etc. 

Th(> main object of the writer is to gi\'c a description of the mitsu- 
mata plant and its culture, with the purpose of interesting Americans 
in the question of its cultivation and the manufacture of the extremely 
useful papers which can be produced from its bark and which deserve 
to be widely known throughout America. 

THE MITSUMATA PLANT. 

Edgeioorthia papyrifera S. & Z. is the botanical name of the mitsu- 
mata paper plant, and the systematists place it, along with the Daphne, 
among a number of forms with lace-like bark, in the order Thymeleeese. 
It is a pretty, decorative shrub, with characteristically branching 



12 THREE NEW PLANT INTRODUCTIONS. 

stems, broad, lig'ht-green leaves, and delicate yellow ilowers which are 
borne in heads. Its forks are always composed of three branches 
instead of two, as is common with other shrubs, and this character 
alone distinguishes it from anj' common shrub in cultivation. It is 
sometimes grown in Japan for its decorative yellow ilowers alone. 
The Marquis jVIatsudaira, formerly one of the feudal lords of the 
country, has it planted inside his castle walls at Fukuias an ornamental 
plant. Scarcely over 5 feet high, it has, as a result of its peculiar 
branching habit, a characteristic vase form. (Pis. I and II, tig. 2.) 
Owing to the fact that in the cultivation of the plant it is continuallj' 
pollarded near the surface of the ground, it is difficult to say what the 
plant would grow into if left to itself. The light, brownish-gray 
bark is thick and lace-like as a piece of tapa. and one can easily spread 
a bit of it out with the lingers into a web-like, rough fabric. The 
small fruits are borne in clusters and are about a quarter of an inch 
long. Each fruit contains, inside the thin layer of flesh, a shiny black, 
sharp-pointed seed, with a thin shell and milk-white contents. 

In the provinces of Shizuoka, Nogano, and Fattori are quite exten- 
sive plantations of mitsumata, and it is said that the areas under 
cultivation are steadily increasing. As a rule, the plantations occupj' 
land which is not tit for rice growing, such as hillsides too steep for 
terracing and valleys too narrow to make rice culture practicalile. 

Red or yellow c\a.j of volcanic origin, mixed often with rocks and 
coarse gravel, seems to suit the plant admirably. The hillside planta- 
tions sometimes reach to the line of newly cut cryptomeria forest, and 
even cover the tops of the hills from which, manj' years before, the 
timber had all been cut. Good drainage seems to be one necessary 
requisite to the growth of the plant in the wet climate of Japan, but its 
culture between the rice fields proves that it can stand heav}' irrigation, 
though a plant not well suited to withstand drought. 

THE CULTIVATION OF MITSUMATA. 

Early in June, in Japan, children not over 8 or 9 years old are sent 
through the plantations with baskets to pick the ripe fruits of the 
mitsumata. The plants produce seed sparingly', it is said, so that the 
work of collection is much like picking wild blackberries or straw- 
berries in America, but it is far more irksome for the children, for 
instead of being palatable the thin-shelled seeds contain an exceedingly 
acrid endosperm. 

The seeds, with their thin, green flesh, are spread out to weather 
until the latter has rotted away, leaving the black seeds, which are 
packed in a sack made from the double sheath of the native palm. 
The meshes of this natural sack arc fine enough to prevent the seeds 
from falling out and still allow the air and moisture to enter. In this 
form they are buried in a hole in the ground under the shelter of an 



CULTIVATION OF MITSUMATA. 13 

overhanging root' or are stored in .some outbuilding and kept until 
planting time the following Febi'uaiy. The price of this seed varies 
greatly; from 30 cents to $1.50 a gallon was the range quoted the 
writer by the peasants. 

In the middle or toward the last of Februar_y the seed bed is pre- 
paied and the seeds are planted in rows a foot oi' so apart, whci'c they 
are given the usual care of weeding and cultivation which all seedlings 
require, and where they remain for one year, or until 8 or 9 inches 
high. These young plants are then set out on the hillsides, after the 
ground has been prepared for their reception by working it over with 
a mattock or fork. They are put in at the rate of 20,000 to 21:,000 to 
the acre, or about a foot and a half apart each way. On the hillside 
plantations shelter trees of a species of alder [AhniK iHuritliiia var. 
japonica) are planted 20 to 30 feet apart. The roots of these trees are 
said to help l)ind the loose soil, the dead leaves form a mulch, and the 
branches form a wind-break, preventing the winds from whipping the 
young shoots of the mitsumata plants. Two or three cultivations a 
year are given to keep down the weeds and loosen the soil, and bj- the 
end of the first year after transplanting the harvest of bark is ready. 

The harvesting is done any time in the winter and consists merely in 
cutting the plants down to the ground by means of a heavy knife, 
binding them into bundles, and transporting them to the farmhouse. 
Though the tops are cut down every other winter, the roots of the 
mitsumata plants remain alive for many j'ears — roots a hundred years 
old are known, it is said — but for commercial purposes the stumps of 
the plant cease to produce profitable crops of new shoots after ten or 
twelve years, when they are dug out and young plants are set in their 
places. It requires two years for an old stump to produce a market- 
able bush, and many of the plants are evidently allowed three or four 
years to grow 1)cfore being cut down again. 

The crop would naturally be a biennial instead of an annual one, Init 
owing to the fact that some plants have to be replaced earlier than 
others a tield of mitsumata soon has growing on it plants in various 
stages of maturity, and the cutting can be done every winter. 

From (iOO to 2,()00 jjounds of i-aw bark per acre arc jiroduced l)y 
this plant, according to a statement made t)}' a paper manufacturer, 
and when made into pulp it is worth in Japan 1.5 to 1(1 cents gold per 
pound, or four times what the imported wood pulp from America 
sells for in Yokohama. 

The bark is removed from the cut shoots by the peasants, who soak 
them in hot water and strip off the bark by hand. From the clean 
appearance of the bundles of peeled branches it seems probable that 
the bark slips ofi' easily (see PI. Ill, tig. 1), leaving light, porous 
faggots, suitable for kindling wood.' Whether or not the bark could 
be removed l)y machinerj' has yet to be investigated, but the soft 



14 THREE NEW PLANT INTRODUCTIONS. 

nature of the wood makes it seem an easy matter to crush the stems 
and separate the wood from the hark after the crushing. The fact 
that in Japan these, as well as the other processes, are done by hand sicr- 
nifies little as regards the possibility of the application of machinery', 
when it is remembered that until two years ago such simple operations 
as tea firing and sifting were done there — and are yet to a large extent — 
by hand. 

THE MANUFACTURE OF MITSUMATA PAPER. 

Small paper factories are scattered along the banks of the picturesque 
mountain streams in central Japan, and the broad drying boards cov- 
ered with sheets of fresh paper are common sights in many of the 
mountain villages. (See PI. Ill, tig. 2.) 

The freshly stripped hark is macerated in vats of warm water 
and the thin outer bark is removed by scraping with a dull knife. 
The purity of the paper depends in large measure upon how thoroughlj^ 
this dark part is removed, for any small particles that are overlooked in 
the cleaning make dark flecks in the paper. After cleaning, these soft, 
spongy strings of ))ark are thrown into a vat tilled with caustic soda, and 
are left to macerate thoroughly until the fibers can be easily separated 
from each other. The macerated bark is then pounded, either in a 
.stone mortar with a heavy wooden mallet or by means of a stamping 
mill run by water power until it is a homogeneous pulp. It is then 
mixed with water, bleached with chlorid of lime, and put into a large 
vat, from which small (juantities are taken by the hand screens which 
the operator nses in making the sheets of paper. A nuicilage made 
by macerating the root of a species of hibiscus (//. unmlhof) is added 
in small quantities to the pulp to make the fibers stick together. The 
amount of this mucilage used seems to be a matter of experience. 
One woman can make, ))v means of her bamboo hand sieve, 600 sheets 
of paper a day, and, according to the prices given me through an 
interpreter, this medium quality of paper sells for about 9-lr cents a 
hundred sheets. It is very interesting to watch how skillfully ths 
operator lifts from the vat a screen half full of thin pulp, jjoises it 
and shakes it for a second or two, allows the water to drain out for a 
few moments, then quickly lifts the screen and, inverting it, lays it 
face down on the pile of previously made sheets. She then gently 
and slowly lifts the sieve and leaves a thin layer of wet pulp upon 
the continually thickening pile. W^ith a hand press the water is 
squeezed out of this pile of wet papers, the individual sheets are 
stripped off one by one, brushed out on smooth boards with brushes 
just like those used by the paper hanger to spread the paste on wall 
paper, and are then put out in the sun to dry, after which simple proc- 
ess the papers are packed in bundles and taken by pony or bull pack 
animals to the neai'est market. In at least one town in Japan paper- 



MANUFACTUKE OF PAPER. 15 

making- machinery is being employed in the manufacture of the liner 
grades of mitsumata paper for export to America. These machines 
are rotary, steam-heated drums for macerating the pulp with caustic 
soda, and the regular pulping tanks for separating the fillers and in 
which the blanching process is carried on. In the mill which the 
writer visited the same baml:ioo hand sieves were employed by the 
operators in making the sheets from vats of the pulp, so that the 
papers made by this mill should still be classed as handmade papers. 

The laborers at work in separating the inner from the outer bark 
were getting onlj' !} to 10 cents gold a day, and it seemed as if the 
work was so mechanical in nature that it could easily be done by 
machines; but this question could onlj' be decided by an investigation 
made by experts in such matters. The question also whether the 
hand sieves could be done away with and continuous-process machines 
sul)stitutcd for them must be settled }>y repeated trials. Prol)lems 
which appear much more complicated have been solved by American 
mechanics. 

THE MANUFACTURE OF LEATHER PAPER. 

"Tsuboya" paper is a most peculiar looking substance. It resem- 
bles oilcloth, but has a texture more nearly resembling that of fine 
leather, except that it is more or less translucent, like oiled pigskin. 
In the province of Ise, Japan, are noted manufacturers of tobacco 
pouches who use only this leather paper in their manufacture, and the 
variety of styles in which they make their papers is remarkable. 

Yamada, where Seibei Ikebe (who is pro1)ably the most noted maker) 
has his shop, is a favorite place for pilgrims, and for several genera- 
tions Ikebe and others have-sold them their paper tobacco pouches 
until it has become the fashion for every pilgrim to l)ring back from 
his pilgrimage to Yamada a paper pouch as a souvenir. 

Some of these leather papers are smooth and almost transparent; 
others are rough and stamped with pretty patterns, a host of different 
colors being used in their printing. They are in character a kind of 
wrinkled oiled cardboard and the process of their manufacture is a 
tedious though comparatively simple one. 

A thick, weak cardboard called '"onagaslii" paper, which is manu- 
factured of bark fiber in one of the interior towns near Gifu, is 
imported into Yamada in large quantities. Before processing it is soft 
and tough, but will break like any thin cardboard. To transform it 
the sheets are moistened and then wrapped about a .small round stick 
the size of a broom handle. Several sheets are wrapped at a time, 
separated from each other by special dry papers which have been 
painted with persinnuon juice to tan them, and the roll of these papers 
is finally wrapped with a cloth and tied. This roll, out of both ends 
of which the stick protrudes, is put under a long lever, one end of the 



16 THREE NEW PLANT INTK0DUCTI0N8. 

stick being stuck througli a hole in the lever and the other lodged in a 
hole through the iioor. The workman then sits on the long end of the 
lever and teeters until the roll of papers, which was originally about 18 
inches long, is reduced to not more than 12 inches. He then removes 
the roll, undoes it, spreads out the papers, again arranges his dry sheets, 
and prepares another roll for the lever, inserting the same papers in a 
different position. Eight times he subjects the papers to this w rinkling 
process, and each time they become smaller, thicker, and more pliaijle 
until, after the last wrinkling, the cardboard is as soft and limp as a 
bit of muslin. 

Once through the wrinkler, the paper is given a coating of oil made 
from the seed of a labiate {P<r///a (K'yinoides) and hung out to dry. 
For over a hundred days it is hung in the open air to allow the oil to 
harden, and even two hundred days are sometimes required to linish 
this part of the process. After being once dried out the piece of 
wrinkled oil paper can be treated in almost any way — shaved or scraped 
with a sharp knife, stamped or beaten with dies or patterns, or given a 
coat of lacquer varnish. If colored papers are required, the pigments 
are applied before the oiling process. 

Although these remarkable papers are used now almost exclusively 
for tobacco and other pouches, there are other uses to which the 
inventive American mind can put them, such as book covers, port- 
folios, table covers, etc., and the writer is of opinion that, should they 
once be available to the common people, man}- new and important 
applications for them would be found. 

A similar form t)f these leather papers is the Japanese handmade 
wall paper, which is already becoming fashionable in America. Large 
factories are running near Tokyo which turn out the most beautiful 
designs for wall and ceiling decoration. These wall papers are 
wrinkled in the way previously descri])cd, though evidentlj' not so 
finely, and are then stamped and modeled })v hand into the most 
artistic designs imaginable'. 

The extent of the leather-paper industry is not great, but, as it is, 
over 200,000 paper pouches are made annuallj' by one firm alone in 
Yaniada and a])out §15, ()(»() worth of l»usiness yearly is claimed to be 
done by the same tirm. 

Any plant from which can be produced a set of papers widely dif- 
ferent from those we already have is worthy of consideration by the 
cultivators of the country, and if the processes of manufacture can 
make out of it better, stronger envelopes, finer and lighter wrapping 
paper, more suita))]e toilet papers, or a cheap and useful substitute 
for leather, the cultivation of the plant in America may prove de- 
cidedly profitable. 

As the species of mitsumata is not one which will withstand much 
cold, it is useless to try to grow it in any regions where the 



A NEW WINTER SALAD. 17 

thermometer sinks Iwlow In- F.. and as it requires moisture tliere 
would be no reason for testing it on the dry plains. The irrigated 
rice lields of Texas, with their unoccupied dikes and narrow strips of 
land between the tiekls. would form excellent trial places for the plant, 
and the Colorado Desert, with its rich soil and abundant water supply, 
might prove well adapted to its cultivation. The moister portions of 
Florida and Louisiana coukl be used for experimental cultivation, and 
the irrigated regions of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers would 
probaljly be suitable for the growth of this Japanese paper plant. 

UDO, A NEW WINTER SALAD. 
INTRODUCTION. 

Nothing has yet been found which competes with lettuce for the 
first place as a winter salad, but for a change there are so few salad 
plants which can be had in the winter that a new and eligible one is 
surely worth}- the serious attention of the public. 

Udo is a plant which has been in cultivation for many years in 
Japan, and was prol)ably introduced from China, where it is known 
as a vegetable under the name of t"u-tang-kuei, according to Dr. 
Augustine Henry in his notes on the Economic Botany of China. 

In the tea houses all over Japan its crisp, l)lanchcd stems are served 
fresh with salt or boiled with a soy sauce. Eaten as served by the 
Japanese, it would not be likelj' to attract the attention e\en of one in 
search of such things except as Iteing the best of the collection of 
those characteristic dishes which form the menu of a Japanese meal. 

To Miss Fanny Eldredge, of Yokohama, belongs the credit of liaving 
first adapted this udo to the requirements of the Western table, and it 
was at the home of Mrs. Stuart Eldredge that the attention of Mr. 
Lathrop was tii'st called to this novelty in wintei' salads. Even old 
residents in Japan are unfamiliar with this truly delicious vegctal)le. 

As served in Western style, udo is a mass of thick white shavings, 2 to 
3 inches long by a half inch wide, with a l)rilliant, silky luster. Miss 
Eldredge has found that the best dressing is a French one of oil, vine- 
gar, salt, and pepper, and her method of preparation is to cut the 
shoots into long, thin shavings and allow these to stand in ice water 
for several hours before putting them into the salad bowl and pouring- 
over them the French dressing prepared in the usual waj'." 

These slices of udo are crisper than slices of celery and have none 
of the objectionable strings fibers of the latter. They have a fresh 

« The recipe for the dressing is as follows: For one salad bowl of udo, take one 
tablespoonful of vinegar, one teaspoonful of salt, a liberal sprinkling of black pepper, 
with a drop or two of tabasco sauce; stir thoroughly until the salt is dissolved and 
then add live tablespoonfuls of olive oil. 

26623— No. 42—03 2 



18 THREE NEW PLANT INTRODUCTIONS. 

taste, like the midrib of a lettuce leaf, -with a slight but most agree- 
able suggestion of pine flavor. The tenderest young shoots of celery 
could not be more brittle than these blanched stems of udo. 

From the l.-t of October until the middle of Maj' this vegetable is 
for sale in the markets of flapan. and in this winter character, aside 
from its being an excellent salad, lies its great value. It is compar- 
atively cheap and is eaten by the poor Japanese as well as by the rich. 

From its adaptability to winter culture and its excellent quality, this 
plant deserves to become as well known as asparagus or celery. 

Botanically the plant is known as Araliit conh/fa Thunb. It has been 
recognized as an ornamental plant in Europe and America, where Us 
large, sharply lobed. regular leaves have been highly prized for their 
decorative effects. (See PL IV.) The edible portions of the plant are 
its young shoots, which are Ijlanched by being covered with earth. 

There are two varieties of udo, called respectively "kan udo" and 
'"moyashi udo," and these, though of similar appearance as they are 
placed on the market, are quite difterently cultivated. 

Through the assistance of Mr. H. Suzuki, of the Yokohama Nur- 
.sory Companv. 1 was able to learn from the growers of this vegetable 
how it should be cultivated. Its cultivation is not difhcult and will be 
easily understood l)v anyone acquainted with the ordinary methods of 
forcing asparagus. 

THE CULTIVATION OF KAN UDO. 

The seeds of this variety are sown broadcast in seed ))eds, prepared 
of rich garden earth, in the month of March or April, and are allowed 
to grow there for one year. The following spring the individual 
seedlings are transplanted from this seed bed, after the tops, which 
have died during the winter, have been removed, and they are then set 
in rows 2 feet apart and 10 inches from each other in the rows. In 
these rows they are cultivated all summer, or until September, when 
the leaves begin to turn brown. The stems are then cut back close 
to the rootstocks and the earth is piled up in a mound 2 feet high 
above the latter. In forty days the new shoots, which begin to form 
as soon as the old ones have been cut back, appear above the surface 
of the mound. They are then ready for cutting, and the mound is 
opened and the marketable shoots cut. Each rootstock produces 
about live of these blanched shoots, three of which are probably fit 
for the uiarket at the first cutting, early in October. The remaining 
.small shoots are covered up again and allowed to grow for a second 
cutting a week or so later. In removing these shoots for market 
care is taken to cut close to their bases, so as not to leave stubs, as the 
presence of the latter is said to prevent the rapid growth of the 
remaining young shoots. 

Generally only two crops of shoots are secured of the kan udo, but 



CULTIVATION OF UDO. 19 

occasionally there are three. After the removal of the last crop the 
rootstocks arc buried ami allowed to remain over winter. In the 
spring- the mounds are opened and rich manure is applied in trenches 
running on both sides of the plants. Throughout the summer the 
plants are allowed to grow and are again cut down in autumn and 
treated in a similar wa}' to that just described. The life of the Ivan 
udo rootstocli is more than ten years, but beyond that age its use ceases 
to be profitable. 

Although generally grown from seed, this variety can be repro- 
duced from root cuttings, though the latter method is considered less 
practicable, owing to the fact that the large root cuttings take up 
more space in the held. 

The season for kan udo is October and November, and being the 
earliest variety and occupying the fields to the exclusion of other 
crops it is also the dearest, sometimes selling for as much as '25 cents 
for a bundle of 10 shoots. It is not otherwise preferable in any way 
to the other variety, which first appears in the market toward the end 
of November. 

THE CULTIVATION OF MOYASHI TIDO. 

The moyashi or forcing udo is grown from root cuttings, which are 
purchased by the growers from special cultivators who have their 
seed beds on the slopes of Fujiyama. These young sets, which have 
been grown from seed the year before, are dug in November and kept 
all winter packed in straw. They are bought in early spring by the 
cultivators and kept ready for planting, which is done during March 
and April. 

The root cuttings are laid lengthwise in a shallow trench about 4 
inches apart, and in the space between them a small quantitj' of rich 
manure is placed. The}' are then covered with 2 inches of soil. As 
the leaves appear, the trench is gradually filled about their bases, and, 
with the usual cultivation to keep down the weeds, the plants are 
allowed to grow until the end of October, or until frost. These two- 
year-old plants are then dug, the dead stems are removed, and the 
plants packed away in a dry place until wanted for the forcing bed. 
They may be kept for several months in this dry condition without 
injury. 

The forcing bed is made bj' digging a trench 3 feet wide and 2 feet 
deep and putting on the bottom a thin layer of barley husks or a 
sprinkling of bone dust, over which is spread an inch of rich, light 
garden soil, mixed with about 10 per cent of leaf mold. 

The drv udo sets, which are kept in stock, are packed as closely 
together as they can stand in the bottom of the trench, which is filled 
in and heaped up with the same light soil. In about fiftj' days the first 



20 THBEE NEW PLANT INTRODUCTIONS. 

shoots appear above the mound and are cut, like asparagus, by digging 
down to the base or by inserting a long knife into the mound. 

By preparing a series of forcing trenches and planting them at dif- 
ferent times, fresh shoots of the moyashi udo can be had all wintei' 
long, from XoAcmber until the beginning of ^la^'. 

At the close of the forcing season the rootstocks are taken from the 
trench, planted out in rows, manured heavily, allowed to grow all 
summer, and forced again the following winter. These same roots 
are used for several years. (See PI. V, figs. 1, 2, and 3.) 
- Although cheaper than the kan udo. this forcing variety will prob- 
ably be better suited to our American conditions, for it yields shoots 
throughout the winter, while the other sort produces them only in 
October and Novem))er. The mild winters in Japan make these forc- 
ing beds in the open gi'ound possible, and it is probaltle that as far 
north as Norfolk. Va.. the cultui'e of udo in a similar way could be car- 
ried on; if not. certainly Florida and California truck growers coidd 
cultivate the plant. The kan udo might be grown even farther north 
where the ground does not freeze until after the last of November. 

WASABI, THE HORSE-RADISH OF THE JAPANESE. 
INTRODUCTION. 

There is a fresh sharpness about Japanese wasabi that not even the 
iinest Austrian sorts of horse-radish possess. The color, too, is not 
generally white, but a delicate shade of green, and although served 
much in the same way that horse-radish is served in America, it is 
quite a different thing. 

The roots, which arc grated up to prepare this Japanese appetizer, 
are produced by a plant of the same family as the true horse-radish 
and the mustard, and tiotanists give it the name of Eatrema wasahl. 
(PI. VI.. figs. 1 and ±) 

To anyone fond of such things this Japanese horse-radish will prove 
an acceptable novelty, and it is with the object of acclimatizing wasabi 
in America that a few young plants have been secured and will be 
propagated and tested in the trial gardens of the Department of 
Agriculture. 

In Japan grated wasabi is a constant accompaniment to the raw 
fish which forms such a prominent part of a Japanese meal. Without 
it the fish would taste as unnatural to a diner as blue-point oysters on 
the half-shell without horse-radish would taste to the average Amer- 
ican. Wasabi is, in fact, universally used in the inns and tea houses 
of the country. 

The wasabi plant is a peculiar one to cultivate, and there are certain 
localities in Japan where it is grown, notably in the region about 
Hiroshima. It is popularly believed that the culture must be carried 



CULTIVATION' OF WASA13I. 21 

on ill runuing water, hut this is not ab.solutely correct, for near Nara, 
in the little village of Kirij-ama. there are patches of wasabi which 
have been grown for many generations by the same family in a loca- 
tion not flooded with water. 

With Mr. K. Yendo of the Tokyo Botanic Gardens as interpreter, 
the writer visited, in June. 1902. one of the cultivators of wasalii and 
gleaned from him a number of facts about the culture of the vege- 
table. Mr. Kawakita, whose father and grandfather before him had 
grown wasabi. carried on its cultivation — as the growers of Fourche 
Maline do the horse-radish — only as a secondary crop. His patches 
of the plant were in a narrow valley, shaded by persimmon trees, 
where tiie soil was wet l\v underground springs, just such a place as 
one would expect to find ferns in were the ground not cultivated. (See 
PI. VI, fig. 2.) 

Owing to the ravages of a small caterpillar which had riddled the 
leaves with holes, the plants presented a sorry enough appearance, and 
the owner took no pride in showing them. The general appearance of 
the slopes of the little valley was as if they had iieen covered with a 
coarse, broad-leaved dock like the Pefatn'tt-s, which is common in parks 
in Europe. 

THE CULTIVATION OF WASABI. 

The method of culture practiced by Mr. Kawakita is a simple one 
enough, the chief point being the selection of a suitable location for 
the patch. Moisture is essential, and the ))orders of a mountain brook 
or a bit of "springy" meadow in the hills would form a suitable situ- 
ation. Shade is likewise looked upon by this gardener as necessary, 
and that cast by the kaki or Japanese persimmon trees is preferred. 
The soil is a stitt' clay, mixed with gravel, which retains moisture for 
a long time. 

In the month of June, when the 2-year-old plants which are ready 
for market are dug. the young suckers are carefully removed from the 
marketable roots and are planted out in the field. They are set in 
rows that are 1^ feet apart and are put only 10 inches from each other 
in the rows. Weeding is done as found necessary, and in February 
or March the plants are hilled up to make them produce longer v.nd 
larger roots for the market. 

Liquid manure and rape-seed cake are two of the principal fertilizers 
of the country, and these are applied judiciously in November and 
March in quantities varying according to the soil conditions. 

For two years the young wasabi plants are cared for in the field, at 
the end of which time their roots are large enough to be dug. Over 
2 tons of these roots are said to be harvested from an acre. 

The roots are prepared for market by washing ofi' the dirt, cutting 
'back the tops, and binding into bundles. They keep for some time, 



22 THREE NEW PLANT INTRODUCTIONS. 

just as hor.se-radish does. There is said to he a difference between 
the wasabi which is g-rown directlj^ in the running water and that 
cultivated in wet locations in the mountains, the former havint;' a 
greener color. Roots that are grown in the mountains have a finer 
flavor than those which are cultivated on the plains, it is said. 

The roots are generally grated and served as horse-radish is served 
in America, but they are sometimes pickled with sake vinegar, the 
residue from the rice wine of the country, or are used to give a snap 
to certain kinds of confectionery. The fresh leaves are also employed 
in the manufacture of a pepper sauce by putting them in a bottle, 
pouring hot water over them, and allowing them to stand for several 
hours. 

A vegetable wliicli has t)ecome to the Japanese what horse-radish 
is to the Occidentals can hardly fail to attract the attention of those 
Ameri'^ans who are .seeking new and appetizing relishes. 



PLATES. 



DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. 

Plate I. Frontupien'. A hillside oovereil with niitsniiuita paper plants, near Shizu- 
oka, Japan. 

Plate II. Fig. 1. — Mitsumata plant two years after transplanting frciin nursery row. 
Fig. 2. — Three-year-old shoots rising from an old mitsumata stump, near 
Shizuoka. 

Plate III. Fig. 1. — A bundle of stems of mitsumata after the paper-producing liark 
has been removed. Fig. 2. — Boards covered with drying sheets of mitsumata 
paper. 

Plate IV. Plants of the kan or summer udo growing in the field. From a photo- 
graph taken on the experiment station grounds of Manjuis ^latsudaira at Fukui, 
Japan, by Yendo. 

Plate V. Fig. 1. — Young root cutting of the forcing udo after it has been planted for 
a week or two in the spring, showing the way the new shoot springs from the 
horizontally laid cutting. Far.«ari, photographer, Yokohama. Fig. 2. — Old root 
of the forcing udo after it has been long enough in the soil in spring to start well 
into growth. Farsari, photographer, Yokohama. Fig. .3. — Blanched young 
shoot of forcing udo, more than 2 feet in length, as taken from the forcing bed 
in ilay. The white portion only is edible, the dark part being the old root, 
which jiroduces, one after tlie other, several such edible shoots. Farsari, pho- 
tographer, Yokohama. 

Plate VI. Fig. 1. — Young wasabi plants ready to set out. The marketable roots 
look much like these. Fig. 2. — A patch of wasabi growing on a shady hillside. 

24 

o 



Bui. 42, Bureau of Plant Indust y, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 



Plate II. 




Fig. 1.— Mitsumata Plant Two Years After Transplanting from Nursery Row. 



HjB^KBfaBCjg»'^>l<iy.-73BML. iJBt^^ft* 1^^^^R^B^RZj|OH^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^V^S^Rfl|nHHf 


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^^^t/^KEjiii^j w^^3fli^ip9p^^3s^rj^^Ki9i 


K^^^Sy^Jj^^fegf^^^^j^^T^^iwa^MK^M 




SH 


l^bj||^r/^3^^C^9I^T~ /*^ / ^r v^^^^^^B j'^^^^P^^Ta 




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wsBomg. . W|y \ \ ^ 


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IB^u'-My^HI \\ 


wmir si^^m 


^^^bI^H^Bv ^ ^^HI^^^^I^B'9 ^ vg^A^L^^^' f* ^^^^^^^^^^^^BF9S 


aJJ^H^S^Hi'^'^'^^^O^ / mp^^ 


aHH^^flMHl vl\ / imm^^^^ek 


B^^^M^^T^^'^Q^Sa^HBIt'^jCv^B^r' %\ V 1 dri *^3^^^R^pAy'£^^s^^L<'^^ 


^'^^^^^^^^^^^^^^P . j'tfty^^lTvc^^^^^gl^l^^^MS^^^ 


^^^^m^^^i 


J^^OOiJT^^SifeB^M^D^lO' mr f 



Fig. 2.— Three-year-old Shoots from an Old Mitsumata Stump. 



6ul 42, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept, of Agriculture. 



Plate III, 




FiQ. 1.— A Bundle of Peeled Stems of Mitsumata. 




FlQ. 2.— BOARDa C>JvLrttu .V i I n Uk.INo bHLtl; 



.1^1 A Paper. 



Bui, 42, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S Dept. of Agriculture. 



Plate IV. 




The Udo Plant in the Field. 



Bui 42, Bureau of Plant Industry U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 



Plate V. 




Fig. 1 .—Young Root Cutting of Udo Planted in the Spring. Showing New Shoot. 





Fig. 2.— Old Root of Udo Planted in 
the Spring, on which a Young Shoot 
HAS Formed. 



Fig. 3.— Blanched Young Shoot of Udo 
more than Two Feet Long, Taken 
FROM the Forcing Bed in May. 



Bui. 42. Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 



Plate VI. 




Fig. 1.— Young Wasabi Plants Ready to Set Out. 




Fig. 2.— a Patch of Wasabi on a Shady Hillside. 



Lt Mr "08 



,.-$.A.v r 







